Jason Collins and US sports culture

As I was getting ready this morning and SportsCenter was playing in the background, one particular story caught my eye. Last night, Jason Collins, an NBA player who was recently signed on with the Brooklyn Nets for a 10-day contract, was one of the leading stories. Why? Because he "made history" as they put it... He became the first openly gay NBA player.

Cool. Not necessarily a top five story on a sports show that recaps the events of the day prior. Isn't this old news? Didn't he announce he was gay last year? Why should a player with a 10-day contract make a top story... and the ticker on the bottom of the screen... and be talked about at length?

SportsCenter continued to play in the background. When it came time to recap the Nets game last night, the commentator made note that the crowd applauded Collins when he checked in, circled him on the screen when he got boxed out simply because it was the first play he was involved in, and, showed a play in which Collins fell down and his teammates picked him up... they showed it three times.

I may be in the minority, but I want to live in a world where gay athletes are athletes and female athletes are athletes and black athletes are athletes. Why the hell do I need a text message from ESPN letting me know that the first openly gay NBA player just checked into the game?

I grew up playing sports, and I was well aware that there were lesbians on my team. I showered with them and changed in front of them and, yes, helped them up if they had been knocked down on the field. This doesn't make me progressive. It makes me human, and an athlete, and a teammate.

This has got me thinking. Maybe the female athletes have got it right after all. Maybe female athletes don't make headlines because we're boring. We get along. That's not to say I was friends or even liked some of the girls I played with. But I knew that getting along with them meant success. I have been part of many teams and the ones that were the most successful had one thing: team chemistry.

Which brings up another headline: Incognito vs. Martin. So much talk about the "NFL culture" and "testosterone-driven men." So much blaming and pointing fingers. The problem is clear: boys, from a young age are taught to suppress feelings. If you show emotion, you are weak, you are feminine. SPORTS are MASCULINE. Do. Not. Show. Emotion. (That is unless it's anger or rage, cause you know, you need that to play football. It's a brutal game.)

Martin was clearly struggling with something. He was never given the tools to try to fix them. He probably saw a trainer for a bum knee, but where do you go if you are feeling depressed?

Guess what boys?!?! It's okay to cry! It's okay to feel! It is healthy and normal. It makes me think you are stronger than when you push those feelings away.

The infamous play: Jason Collins teammates helping him up.
Credit: Deadspin

I'm lucky to be a female athlete. I can have emotion, gay teammates, team chemistry. Oh, and at the same time, I can be strong, fast, hard-working, driven. I can push others harder so they can get better and at the end of the day, if they have a problem with it, they can talk to me about it. And I won't call them a "pussy" for showing me some emotion.

What do Danica Patrick and Jason Collins have in common? They both are not very good at their respective sports, but get attention because they are trying to break down barriers. Kudos to you! But I'd much rather hear about the great athletes. If they happen to be a woman, or happen to be gay, that's cool, too.

If every time a male athlete comes out as gay they spend ten minutes showing how their teammates helped him off his ass after he fell, this is a sad world we live in. Guess what? If Roy Hibbert fell down, his teammates would help him up, too.

See also: This Deadspin article that claims the Lakers issued 50 more press credentials than usual.